Howard Hawks' El Dorado is a somewhat inferior reworking of the basic themes in his earlier Rio Bravo, both of which starred John Wayne. Many scenes and characters in the later film closely parallel ones in the earlier one. While El Dorado is no classic, it's pretty enjoyable, especially when Robert Mitchum or James Caan are onscreen--they play counterparts to Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson in the earlier film. This was one of Caan's first major film roles--he was something of a discovery of Hawks'. It's hard not to like the parts where he recites Edgar Allan Poe's poem, the words of which were slightly reworked to give the film its theme song.

"Over the MountainsOf the Moon,Down the Valley of the Shadow,Ride, boldly ride,"The shade replied,--"If you seek for Eldorado!"

"May the hinges of friendship never rust, nor the wings of love lose a feather"--Scottish blessing

Wir sind die Nacht/We Are the Night is a dark and very good German thriller/horror film about some non-sparkly vampires. Lena (Karoline Herfurth) is a delinquent Berlin teen, trying to stay ahead of the law. At a strange nightclub one evening, she finds herself dancing with Louise (Nina Hoss)--when Louise follows her into the restroom, Lena is shocked to find that the other woman doesn't cast a reflection in the mirror. Very quickly, Louise and her sidekicks Charlotte (Jennifer Ulrich) and Nora (Anna Fischer) are initiating Lena into a very particular sort of nightlife. But Lena may have her own ideas about living forever and about who she wants to spend it with. This one was fast-paced and intense, and some moments packed a surprising emotional punch. If you follow European cinema--and I do--you'll definitely want to see this one, if for no other reason than that it showcases a quartet of talented German actresses. Herfurth is a rising star in German film, and her costars are all quite good, too--Ulrich is particularly effective.

"May the hinges of friendship never rust, nor the wings of love lose a feather"--Scottish blessing

My movie for tonight was The Colditz Story. Colditz was a German castle, used during World War II as a special prison to house POW's who made multiple escape attempts. Pat Reid (played by John Mills in the film) was a British officer who escaped from Colditz during the war and wrote a memoir of his experiences once the war was over; his book was the basis for this film. This is a good war movie in the POW subgenre; while it lacks the star power and epic scale of The Great Escape, it is tight and suspenseful. Mills is a good lead and Eric Portman is impressive as Col. Richmond, the senior officer among the prisoners. Guy Hamilton, best known for his work on the James Bond films, did an effective directing job.

"May the hinges of friendship never rust, nor the wings of love lose a feather"--Scottish blessing

There are nights when I'm in the mood for a movie that's deep, intellectual, and challenging--and nights like tonight when I'm in the mood for exactly the opposite. For those nights, Paul Verhoeven's Starship Troopers, which is just a few steps away from being an "in name only" adaptation of Robert Heinlein's novel, fills the bill. Verhoeven's trademarks--lots of loud, violent action mixed with heavy-handed satire--are on display in this one. Recommended only if you're in an undemanding frame of mind.

"May the hinges of friendship never rust, nor the wings of love lose a feather"--Scottish blessing

Tonight I watched This is Spinal Tap, Rob Reiner's mockumentary about the fictitious heavy metal band of the title. We follow David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest) and Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer), along with their bandmates, as they suffer the travails of being a band which has seen better days--hotel reservations get messed up, no one comes to record-signing sessions, concerts get cancelled, their label objects to the cover art for their new album, their drummer spontaneously combusts on stage. There is bite to the humor in this one--rockers like Jimmie Page have attested to how close to home it hits. Guest, along with McKean and Shearer, Eugene Levy, and others (including Ed Begley, Jr., and Fred Willard, who have cameos in this one), would go on to make a series of critically successful mockumentaries starting in the late 1990s; this was the prototype for films like A Mighty Wind and Best in Show. Not for all tastes but a minor classic all the same.

"May the hinges of friendship never rust, nor the wings of love lose a feather"--Scottish blessing

True Confessions is a very nice neo-noir which featured Robert DeNiro and Robert Duvall--enough reason to watch right there. Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne adapted Dunne's novel for the screen. Tom Spellacy (Duvall) is a hard-nosed LAPD detective investigating the murder of wannabe actress (the case is loosely based on the famous Black Dahlia murder). His brother Des (DeNiro) is a priest who is the rising star of the Los Angeles archdiocese. When Tom's investigation leads to businessman Jack Amsterdam (Charles Durning), who is a huge benefactor of the archdiocese, both brothers may see their lives take unexpected turns. This is a very good one, carried by strong lead performances, and displaying a brutal honesty towards the corruption of LA society in the 1940's.

"May the hinges of friendship never rust, nor the wings of love lose a feather"--Scottish blessing

I think that Mission: Impossible--Ghost Protocol, which I watched tonight, is the best of the four films in the series. Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise, more plausible than in the earlier films as a hard-nosed secret agent) and his new team (Paula Patton, Simon Pegg and Jeremy Renner) are once again out to save the world--this time, the opposition is a rogue nuclear scientist who has a mad dream of nuclear war (Michael Nyqvist), assisted by a seductive French assassin (Lea Seydoux). Worse, Hunt's own government has disavowed him and his team, while a top Russian cop (Vladimir Mashkov) blames him for a bombing of the Kremlin. The plot is over the top, but Brad Bird, directing his first live-action feature, delivers some top-flight action sequences, and paces things perfectly--fast enough that you don't really notice the plot holes, not too fast for the viewer to follow what's going on.

"May the hinges of friendship never rust, nor the wings of love lose a feather"--Scottish blessing

My movie tonight was Straw Dogs, probably Sam Peckinpah's most controversial film. Math professor David Sumner (Dustin Hoffman) and his wife Amy (Susan George), who want to get away from big city violence, have come to live on her family farm in rural Cornwall. Amy renews some old acquaintances, but David doesn't really hit it off with the locals at all. Although this film has a reputation for being very violent, there's nothing particularly shocking about it today in that regard. The more disturbing elements, even after over 40 years, are the depiction of David and Amy's marriage, and of a scene where Amy is raped. This one definitely isn't for everyone; I thought it was very well done technically but not really enjoyable.

"May the hinges of friendship never rust, nor the wings of love lose a feather"--Scottish blessing